Saturday, August 25, 2012

Wolverine & the X-Men #10-14

I decided to catch up on Jason Aaron’s X-book since I got those fancy digital codes, and boy, it looks like I’ve been missing out. I consider myself fairly well caught up on my Marvel minutiae, but Kid Gladiator, Toad as a janitor, Iceman putting the moves on Shadowcat? It’s like I’m a year behind or something! Heck, there’s even a new gal calling herself Warbird!

Not surprisingly, Aaron’s team is awesome. I absolutely love Kid Gladiator; arrogant powerhouses fit in comics better than anywhere else. Someone needs to get this kid talking to Namor. I think they’d clash nicely. Warbird is great too, and after her spotlight issue during AvX, she’s not at all what I’d pictured. A girly-girl in warrior’s clothing, she’s sad and cool at the same time.

Shadowcat as headmistress seems strange, but man, it’s pretty great watching her try to tiptoe around crazy Colossus while he’s powered up. Colossus has always been my favorite X-Man, but it’s hard to defend how nutso he is now. I hope the character is fixable after AvX. (I’m happy his hair is back, too.)

The regular artists seem to be Nick Bradshaw and Chris Bachalo. Bachalo is a known quantity, with is strange panel borders and love of scarves. He does a nice job with the book. But man, this Bradshaw guy is awesome. He’s got a mix o f Arthur Adams and J. Scott Campbell that just sings off the page. Combined with the vibrant color, this book looks fantastic.

I’m glad the creative team isn’t changing with Marvel NOW, cause I’m adding this to the sublist!